US4169685A - Tab layout display for a typewriter - Google Patents

Tab layout display for a typewriter Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US4169685A
US4169685A US05/863,206 US86320677A US4169685A US 4169685 A US4169685 A US 4169685A US 86320677 A US86320677 A US 86320677A US 4169685 A US4169685 A US 4169685A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
escapement
tab
scale
codes
typewriter
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US05/863,206
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
William C. Gruber
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
International Business Machines Corp
Original Assignee
International Business Machines Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by International Business Machines Corp filed Critical International Business Machines Corp
Priority to US05/863,206 priority Critical patent/US4169685A/en
Priority to CA309,352A priority patent/CA1092048A/en
Priority to JP12694278A priority patent/JPS5489820A/ja
Priority to MX175708A priority patent/MX145071A/es
Priority to DE19782851080 priority patent/DE2851080A1/de
Priority to IT30414/78A priority patent/IT1160295B/it
Priority to BR7808611A priority patent/BR7808611A/pt
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US4169685A publication Critical patent/US4169685A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J21/00—Column, tabular or like printing arrangements; Means for centralising short lines
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F40/00—Handling natural language data
    • G06F40/10—Text processing
    • G06F40/166—Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
    • G06F40/183—Tabulation, i.e. one-dimensional positioning

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to typewriters and, in particular, to apparatus for providing visual feedback to an operator regarding typewriter conditions or selections.
  • tab stop capability to facilitate the formatting of typewritten material.
  • the tab stops are typically set by the operator in sequence and are stored either within a "mechanical memory”, e.g., by displacing tab stop elements to an operative position, or within an electronic memory. Since the tab selection involves appearance considerations, it is desirable for the operator to have visual feedback of the stored tab settings.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,138 describes a typewriter that provides visible feedback of a tab layout by means of indicator portions of selectively displaceable tab stop elements. Such indicator portions are displayed alongside a viewable scale which has markings corresponding to escapement distances.
  • displaced elements are described for indicating margin selections and present carrier position in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin dated 5/68, Vol. 10, No. 12 at page 1909.
  • "displaceable element" arrangements for indicating escapement positions are difficult to implement where position information is stored in an electronic memory and, in particular, where a plurality of selections are recallable at operator option.
  • a panel of selectively actuable indicator elements is associated with an operator viewable escapement scale on a typewriter and so cooperates with an electronic tab code storage through a logic circuit that the layout of a presently selected set of tab stops is displayed.
  • codes indicating an operative set of tab stops are read from storage after selection by the operator and are retained in a buffer although, as an alternative, they may be read periodically from storage, at a repeat rate chosen to give an indicator element the appearance of continuous activation.
  • Such codes are supplied to a logic network that is so connected that a given code changes the state (say lit versus unlit) of a correspondingly positioned element--e.g., a light emitting diode (LED) or liquid crystal element along a line array on the panel.
  • LED light emitting diode
  • a presently preferred implementation of the invention is intended for use in a typewriter having two pitch selections and permitting two tab sets to be stored for each pitch.
  • a separate scale is provided for each pitch and respective line arrays of LEDs are arranged to have elements that correspond to the individual escapement scale positions.
  • a set of tab codes is read into the display register, each such code including a bit for indicating the selected pitch.
  • the display logic is so connected that a given code causes energization of the particular LED at the corresponding escapement position along the scale for the selected pitch.
  • the desired tab set indication can also be achieved by deactivating selected elements (e.g., lamps) in a field that is otherwise activated.
  • the specially controlled visible indication may be the result of a change in reflected illumination or a blocking of illumination, for example, using liquid crystal technology.
  • indications may be provided based on escapement codes for right and left margins as well as tab codes.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typewriter adapted to operate in accordance with the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a cooperating scale and element panel combination according to the presently preferred implementation for the invention
  • FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a typewriter indicating an electronic escapement detection arrangement suitable to produce tab code signals for use according to the invention
  • FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram indicating the signal processing strategy which is presently preferred for implementing the invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram indicating decoder connections
  • FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of logic circuitry for controlling the enablement of the decoders in accordance with a binary escapement code
  • FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an LED panel for use according to the invention.
  • FIG. 8 is a graphical representation indicating sample signal waveforms for the circuitry of FIG. 4;
  • FIG. 9 is an alternative for implementing the invention using decoders to drive an LED panel in a push-pull manner.
  • a typewriter 10 adapted to incorporate, in a preferred form, the improvement of the invention includes an escapement scale 12, which is arranged on a cover 13 to be easily viewed from a normal typing position, and a keyboard 14 which includes a tab set key 16 (or key combination), a tab clear key 18, a tab key 19, and a space bar 20, along with various character and functional keys (not specifically denoted). Also provided is a four-position tab and pitch selector switch 21 having two positions for each of two escapement pitches (ten and twelve characters per inch).
  • the scale 12 for the presently preferred implementation of the invention, has sets of escapement markings 22 and 24 for ten- and twelve-character-per-inch pitches respectively. It is preferred that such markings are spaced by distances equal to actual escapement distances in order to give the operator an accurate feel for an indicated tab layout.
  • the scale 12 is transparent or semi-transparent and an indicator panel 26 is located behind the scale from the operator's viewpoint. Alignments of individually controllable indicator elements 28 (discussed in more detail below) are arranged on the panel 26 at positions corresponding to the markings in sets 22 and 24.
  • the elements 28 may be, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and when activated provide a visible indication through the scale 12 as depicted below the "10" position of the set of marks 22.
  • LEDs light emitting diodes
  • a carrier drive arrangement suitable to facilitate tab position encoding includes a lead screw 40 driven off a drive shaft 41 by a gear train 44. Rotation of the lead screw 40 causes escapement axis movement of a type unit carrier 42.
  • a detector 46 for indicating escapement motion increments is of the magnetic reluctance type and includes a spoked wheel 48 that is connected to rotate with the lead screw 40 for triggering pulse signals (S E ) at fixed angular increments.
  • preferred tab storage 60 for a typewriter implementing the invention is a random access memory (RAM) that stores code words representative of tab stop positions in a storage area dedicated to that purpose.
  • code words may be produced, for example, by a counter 70 cooperating with the escapement detector 46 (see also FIG. 1). Escapement pulses (S E ) are added or subtracted to a total at the counter 70 in accordance with signals from a carrier direction indicator 74, e.g., forward and reverse signals from a drive direction controller (not shown) may be used. An increment to the total occurs for 6 or 5 pulses of the detector 46 depending on whether ten-pitch or twelve-pitch operation respectively has been selected (as indicated by bit B 7 ).
  • TRUE or “1”
  • FALSE or “0”
  • Escapement code bits (B 1 through B 6 ) generated at the counter 70 are stored in a buffer 76 along with selection code bits (B 7 and B 8 ) from the switch 21.
  • the state of bit B 7 represents the selected pitch and the state of bit B 8 indicates the selected tab set (A or B) for a given pitch.
  • Tab code storage in a section of the RAM 60 is coordinated by a read-in control 80 which may be incorporated as a function of a microprocessor. Desired tab positions are located by the operator using, for example, the space bar 20 (FIG. 1). Codes are stored in response to a "tab set” signal triggered by the key 16 and are erased in response to a "tab clear” signal triggered by key 18. Tab codes may, for example, be stored sequentially beginning at a start address for each set (set identity is established by switch 21) as is well known in the art for storing data words for subsequent retrieval. Retrieval of stored codes is coordinated by a read-out control 82 which may be implemented within a single microprocessor along with the control 80. The control 82 generates address signals and a write command, in response to positioning of the switch 21, to cause stored tab codes to be asserted in a sequence as words on a data bus, as is also well known in the art of data storage and retrieval.
  • the tab codes of a set are after retrieval read into a buffer register 84. Synchronization of storage operations is achieved using a clock signal SYSCLK.
  • Register 84 has sufficient stages to accommodate the maximum number of codes that may be included in a tab set, say five stages. Codes from a set stored in register 84 are circulated to an output stage for transmission to an indicator-element selector 88 where bits B 0 through B 3 drive a decoder bank 90 and bits B 4 through B 6 drive a decoder-bank control 92.
  • the inputs are the inputs to the bank 90 and output signals "L" are referenced to individual lamp positions in a sequence.
  • Each decoder unit 91 has 16 outputs which correspond to numbers represented by a four bit input.
  • Enable signals (note a logic “FALSE" is assumed to enable the decoder) for the individual decoder units 91 are produced by the logic circuitry of control 92 (see FIG. 6) which includes NAND gates 94 that go FALSE for respective unique state combinations for bits B 4 , B 5 and B 6 .
  • the individual L signals from the decoder bank 90 are by the above described arrangement caused to be TRUE for only one state combination of bits B 1 through B 6 , that combination representing in binary the corresponding signal number for the L signal sequence.
  • the L signals are supplied to composite panel 94 which includes a ten pitch element alignment 98 and a twelve-pitch element alignment 96.
  • Bit B 7 after modification by first and second inverters 100 and 102 serves to control panel enablement respective of pitch selection.
  • a given panel element say the LED element 101, is activated only when the anode is in the TRUE state and the cathode is in the FALSE state.
  • a ten-pitch element can be activated only when B 7 is FALSE and a twelve-pitch element only when B 7 is TRUE.
  • the L signal channels are connected to the elements in sequence from a zero escapement position to the maximum escapement position so that a given binary code (B 1 through B 6 ) drives selector 88 to activate the element anode at the corresponding escapement position.
  • a given binary code B 1 through B 6
  • An example is indicated in FIG. 8 that is based on a tab code that would cause the fifth LED of the ten-pitch panel to be illuminated.
  • an alternative for implementing the invention utilizes a first decoder 110 to control (via the signals denoted L") the cathodes of individual banks of sixteen elements in a panel 94', e.g., a bank 112, in accordance with bits B 4 , B 5 and B 6 while a second decoder 114 controls (via the signals denoted L') respective anodes in each such bank.
  • a panel for two different pitches similar to panel 94 (FIG. 7), may be used if bit B 7 is supplied as input to decoder 110 (e.g., through switch 122).
  • decoder 110 e.g., through switch 122
  • the cathodes for the ten pitch alignment would then be connected to outputs L" of the decoder 110 that correspond to bit B 7 to be in the FALSE state and the twelve-pitch cathode banks would be connected to outputs L" of the decoder 110 that correspond to the bit B 7 in the TRUE state.
  • individually signal controlled indicator elements other than LED's may be employed and the indicators may be alongside the scale rather than being behind the scale so as to transmit light therethrough.
  • a line display may be employed that has discretely activated position indications even though the structure at each position is not discrete.
  • margin codes may be extracted from memory to cause activation of elements at corresponding escapement positions.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
  • Audiology, Speech & Language Pathology (AREA)
  • Computational Linguistics (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Record Information Processing For Printing (AREA)
US05/863,206 1977-12-22 1977-12-22 Tab layout display for a typewriter Expired - Lifetime US4169685A (en)

Priority Applications (7)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US05/863,206 US4169685A (en) 1977-12-22 1977-12-22 Tab layout display for a typewriter
CA309,352A CA1092048A (en) 1977-12-22 1978-08-15 Tab layout display for a typewriter
JP12694278A JPS5489820A (en) 1977-12-22 1978-10-17 Tab arrangement display apparatus for typewriter
MX175708A MX145071A (es) 1977-12-22 1978-11-22 Mejoras en maquina de escribir con memoria electronica
DE19782851080 DE2851080A1 (de) 1977-12-22 1978-11-25 Schreib- o.ae. maschine mit einem speicher fuer die tabulierpositionen und einer anzeige zur darstellung derselben
IT30414/78A IT1160295B (it) 1977-12-22 1978-12-01 Macchina per scrivere perfezionata
BR7808611A BR7808611A (pt) 1977-12-22 1978-12-22 Exibicao da disposicao das tubulacoes para uma maquina de escrever

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US05/863,206 US4169685A (en) 1977-12-22 1977-12-22 Tab layout display for a typewriter

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US4169685A true US4169685A (en) 1979-10-02

Family

ID=25340548

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US05/863,206 Expired - Lifetime US4169685A (en) 1977-12-22 1977-12-22 Tab layout display for a typewriter

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US4169685A (it)
JP (1) JPS5489820A (it)
BR (1) BR7808611A (it)
CA (1) CA1092048A (it)
DE (1) DE2851080A1 (it)
IT (1) IT1160295B (it)
MX (1) MX145071A (it)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4475831A (en) * 1983-08-12 1984-10-09 International Business Machines Corporation Position tracking emitter for a printer with emitter pattern on lead screw
US4487517A (en) * 1979-04-27 1984-12-11 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer adapted to perform margin/tabulator setting function
US4615631A (en) * 1980-10-31 1986-10-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus with means for indicating the selected printing pitch and paper advancing pitch
US4772142A (en) * 1984-12-17 1988-09-20 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Document processing system
US4915520A (en) * 1984-03-12 1990-04-10 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Output apparatus having a tab interval increasing/decreasing function
US4957380A (en) * 1988-03-14 1990-09-18 International Business Machines Corporation Tab adjust function for an electronic typewriter to permit the shifting of tabs from a first to a second format
US5681121A (en) * 1983-06-23 1997-10-28 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer in which the amount of carriage travel can be changed for different printing types
US20090161064A1 (en) * 2005-10-27 2009-06-25 Olver Rabbi Support Particularly for Frames of Eyeglasses and In-Ear Speakers
US10006211B2 (en) 2014-08-27 2018-06-26 Evan J. Stover Flooring system having assembly clip and related method

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS56167484A (en) * 1980-05-30 1981-12-23 Canon Inc Printer
DE3021278C2 (de) * 1980-06-06 1986-02-06 Olympia Werke Ag, 2940 Wilhelmshaven Tabulationseinrichtung
JPS57131585A (en) * 1981-02-06 1982-08-14 Brother Ind Ltd Typewriter
JPS583892A (ja) * 1981-06-30 1983-01-10 Tokyo Juki Ind Co Ltd 印字機のタブ制御装置
JPH061467B2 (ja) * 1982-04-28 1994-01-05 キヤノン株式会社 文字処理装置

Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3137381A (en) * 1961-04-08 1964-06-16 Olympia Werke Ag Tabulator for typewriters and the like
US3559792A (en) * 1967-07-21 1971-02-02 Berthold Fabrik H Digital display and control device for the setting, justification, and control of lines of print
US3648271A (en) * 1970-03-02 1972-03-07 Ibm Visual editing system incorporating selectable letter spacing display and associated scale display
US3711837A (en) * 1971-09-28 1973-01-16 Kara Kount Inc Headline counting and printing design device
US3805940A (en) * 1971-07-12 1974-04-23 Automix Keyboards Justifying apparatus
US3885663A (en) * 1972-12-13 1975-05-27 Casio Computer Co Ltd Control device for tabulation printing
DE2403653A1 (de) * 1974-01-25 1975-07-31 Siemens Ag Tabelliereinrichtung fuer schreibmaschinen
US3923138A (en) * 1966-09-21 1975-12-02 Frederick P Willcox Printer with code-controlled tabulator structure
GB1443050A (en) * 1972-12-25 1976-07-21 Casio Computer Co Ltd Printing control arrangement
US3998311A (en) * 1975-01-17 1976-12-21 International Business Machines Corporation Indicating entry into a variable width right margin zone

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3137381A (en) * 1961-04-08 1964-06-16 Olympia Werke Ag Tabulator for typewriters and the like
US3923138A (en) * 1966-09-21 1975-12-02 Frederick P Willcox Printer with code-controlled tabulator structure
US3559792A (en) * 1967-07-21 1971-02-02 Berthold Fabrik H Digital display and control device for the setting, justification, and control of lines of print
US3648271A (en) * 1970-03-02 1972-03-07 Ibm Visual editing system incorporating selectable letter spacing display and associated scale display
US3805940A (en) * 1971-07-12 1974-04-23 Automix Keyboards Justifying apparatus
US3711837A (en) * 1971-09-28 1973-01-16 Kara Kount Inc Headline counting and printing design device
US3885663A (en) * 1972-12-13 1975-05-27 Casio Computer Co Ltd Control device for tabulation printing
GB1443050A (en) * 1972-12-25 1976-07-21 Casio Computer Co Ltd Printing control arrangement
DE2403653A1 (de) * 1974-01-25 1975-07-31 Siemens Ag Tabelliereinrichtung fuer schreibmaschinen
US3998311A (en) * 1975-01-17 1976-12-21 International Business Machines Corporation Indicating entry into a variable width right margin zone

Non-Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, "Column Layout Control for an Electronically Controlled Typewriter", Clanoy et al., vol. 17, No. 12, May 1975 pp. 3625-3629. *
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, "Electronic Typewriter for the Handicapped", Suding, vol. 19, No. 5 Oct. 1976, pp. 1624-1625. *
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, "Indicator Display", Bagley et al., vol. 11, No. 3 Aug. 1968, pp. 281-282. *
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, "Low-Cost Display for Typewriter System," Kolpek, vol. 19, No. 2, Jul. 1976, p. 563. *

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4487517A (en) * 1979-04-27 1984-12-11 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer adapted to perform margin/tabulator setting function
US4615631A (en) * 1980-10-31 1986-10-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus with means for indicating the selected printing pitch and paper advancing pitch
US5037223A (en) * 1980-10-31 1991-08-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Serial printing apparatus with controllable pitch
US5108203A (en) * 1980-10-31 1992-04-28 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus including error correction and memory means, for printing vertical and horizontal form lines
US5681121A (en) * 1983-06-23 1997-10-28 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer in which the amount of carriage travel can be changed for different printing types
US4475831A (en) * 1983-08-12 1984-10-09 International Business Machines Corporation Position tracking emitter for a printer with emitter pattern on lead screw
US4915520A (en) * 1984-03-12 1990-04-10 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Output apparatus having a tab interval increasing/decreasing function
US4772142A (en) * 1984-12-17 1988-09-20 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Document processing system
US4957380A (en) * 1988-03-14 1990-09-18 International Business Machines Corporation Tab adjust function for an electronic typewriter to permit the shifting of tabs from a first to a second format
US20090161064A1 (en) * 2005-10-27 2009-06-25 Olver Rabbi Support Particularly for Frames of Eyeglasses and In-Ear Speakers
US10006211B2 (en) 2014-08-27 2018-06-26 Evan J. Stover Flooring system having assembly clip and related method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MX145071A (es) 1982-01-04
CA1092048A (en) 1980-12-23
IT1160295B (it) 1987-03-11
JPS5489820A (en) 1979-07-17
BR7808611A (pt) 1979-08-28
IT7830414A0 (it) 1978-12-01
DE2851080A1 (de) 1979-07-05

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4169685A (en) Tab layout display for a typewriter
US3979058A (en) Operator prompting system for stored program calculator
US4323315A (en) Electronic typewriter with display device
US3956745A (en) Programmable keyboard arrangements
US4798387A (en) Multiple bingo gaming board
GB2059270A (en) Bingo
US3638215A (en) Display system with solid matrix display board
US4511259A (en) Bar code input electronic timepiece
SE439394B (sv) Matrisskrivare for skrivning av tecken med valbart olika teckenbredder
US4268826A (en) Interactive display devices
US4016365A (en) Readout for recording typewriter
US4044475A (en) Training machine for keyboards
GB1447878A (en) High-speed printers
US3962700A (en) Alphanumeric gas display panel with modular control
US4056821A (en) Textual processing system utilizing display aided associative searching feature
US3949365A (en) Information input device
US4548519A (en) Marking machine control system
US3609749A (en) Character display system having negative image cursor
US3711837A (en) Headline counting and printing design device
US3792444A (en) Data communication system
US4262291A (en) Arabic numerical displays using segmented patterns
US3374565A (en) Moving display system
US4001814A (en) Fixed format message entry device with electronic storage and editing
US3540031A (en) Character code translator
US4086588A (en) Signal generator

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: IBM INFORMATION PRODUCTS CORPORATION, 55 RAILROAD

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:005678/0098

Effective date: 19910326

Owner name: MORGAN BANK

Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:IBM INFORMATION PRODUCTS CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:005678/0062

Effective date: 19910327